Google has lengthy fought for its popularity as a clear and inexperienced firm that places loads of effort into sustainability. Whether or not it’s the corporate’s declare to make use of principally recycled aluminum for its excellent phones or its efforts to run its information facilities on clear power, the corporate reveals that it is making loads of progress. In 2021, Google lastly promised to offer 5 years of safety patches to its Pixel telephones, together with the Google Pixel 7 Pro, however for some motive, the corporate nonetheless outright refuses to supply greater than three Android updates — and that‘s been a problem for years.
Whereas we’re in a greater place now than we were in in 2020, Google nonetheless has loads of work to do to if it desires to indicate its dedication to software program updates and, by extension, to sustainability.
Surpassed by the competitors
Google lengthy led the pack with its three-year replace promise, however the firm has been surpassed by the competitors. With the introduction of One UI, Samsung restructured its approach to software development in an effort to offer a extra simply updateable system, as Samsung’s Vice President of Android Framework R&D, Sally Jeong, instructed us. Whereas it took the corporate a very long time to get to the place it’s at in the present day, it’s now one your finest choices should you worth quick and long-term updates.
Samsung flagships routinely get safety patches forward of Google’s units, and whereas Samsung can’t beat Google at full Android system updates, it nonetheless comes shut. The South Korean firm managed to complete the large batch of its Android 13 updates earlier than 2022 was over, which is spectacular given what number of totally different Android units there are within the firm’s portfolio — and making Google look that a lot worse as compared, updating as few telephones because it does.
Even OnePlus, an organization that saw better days when it comes to software, has surpassed Google. The corporate now guarantees as much as 4 Android model updates and 5 years of safety patches for its flagship telephones. Whereas this coverage doesn’t lengthen to the quite a few Nord funds telephones the corporate now produces, it’s nonetheless a giant enchancment over the opaque method OnePlus and lots of different producers took up to now.
Once we check out the opposite aspect of the fence, Apple has been in a a lot better place from the get-go. It offers round six to eight years of software program updates for all of its telephones. For those who’re somebody who holds onto know-how till it isn’t usable anymore, the iPhone might be the best way to go. A brand-new iPhone will get software program updates for an extended time frame than its battery will seemingly final.
Apple has the large benefit of offering each the {hardware} and software program for its merchandise, whereas nearly all of Android producers depend on ready-made processors just like the Qualcomm Snadragon 8 Gen 2. This isn’t a foul method, per se, however it does imply that the majority producers have much less management over how lengthy they will present updates to their units than Apple. Qualcomm offers software program patches for its processors, and as soon as the chip maker stops doing that, updates get quite a bit trickier. It’s doable to beat this hurdle, as Fairphone proved with the Fairphone 2, however it’s not a simple activity.
Google is in an excellent place to guide the Android world
In distinction to many different Android producers, Google is now in an analogous place to Apple. Beginning with the Google Pixel 6 collection, the corporate launched its customized silicon resolution, the Google Tensor. It has since adopted up its first try at its personal processor with the Google Tensor G2, which resolved loads of the problems we had with the primary technology.
Now, the Google Tensor chip isn’t as customized as Apple’s silicon — it runs on extra commonplace {hardware} than that resolution, and it consists of Samsung’s notorious Exynos modem, which performed a giant half in why the Pixel 6 had poor connection. This and a few thermal points have been fastened with the Google Pixel 7 collection, and it makes good sense that the primary try at its personal SoC may not have been all good.
At this level, the corporate ought to look past simply including its personal chip to its smartphones and its upcoming pill, although. It is an excellent first step in the direction of independence from exterior elements out of its management, like Qualcomm deciding to discontinue assist for certainly one of its Snapdragon processors, however Google has the possibility to capitalize by itself {hardware} rather more.
Tensor chips might make it doable for Google to offer the Pixel telephones with for much longer software program updates, surpassing even Samsung with its 4 years. Google might go straight at Apple, promising to assist its Pixel telephones for as much as seven years. This is able to give different producers yet one more push to offer us with extra software program updates, and ultimately, everybody would profit from longer-lasting, extra sustainable units.
I understand that offering software program assist for {hardware} is rather more difficult than simply making one’s personal processor, and there are seemingly nonetheless many extra different dependencies within the background that make long-term assist extra difficult.
However hey, when Fairphone, a small Dutch firm with restricted sources, manages to replace an Android cellphone for seven years straight, then absolutely a multi-billion greenback enterprise can determine it out.
Regulators are on the point of implement longer assist
One more reason for Google to change to an extended replace cycle is regulation. Following its massive USB-C mandate, forcing the USB connector on nearly all telephones together with the iPhone, Europe is getting ready to push a 3+5 year update policy on cellphone manufactures. This is able to imply that firms have to offer telephones with three years of software program updates and 5 years of safety updates after launch, which seems like it could serve Google simply wonderful.
Nonetheless, Google becoming proper into this regulation additionally implies that it gained’t be capable to use its software program replace coverage to tell apart itself from different manufacturers. Even now, crucial Android producer, Samsung, presents a greater replace coverage. When Google is simply doing the naked minimal, it gained’t even be capable to distinguish itself from Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor, and Realme, that are manufacturers that traditionally haven’t been so nice at long-term software program assist, regardless of nice {hardware} provided by them.
If this EU regulation comes into place, the one means Google can distinguish itself within the improve division is the truth that its telephones will all the time be the primary to obtain updates. This could be adequate to woo fans such as you and me, however it gained’t be sufficient to persuade the lots who would fairly wait a couple of weeks and even months anyway, in case there are any points with new releases.
The Google Pixel 8 ought to provide greater than 5 years of software program assist
The EU regulation can be aimed toward making a extra sustainable cellphone market, and this brings us again to Google’s sustainability efforts. To reiterate, the corporate is in an excellent place to supply greater than 5 years of software program assist for its cell merchandise due to the corporate lastly beginning to personal extra of the {hardware}. On prime of that, Google might present that it’s actually critical about sustainability, past the window dressing that’s partially recycled {hardware} elements. With the Google Pixel 8, the corporate might show that it’s the chief of the Android world that it’s purported to be.
Actually, long-term software program assist is simply the naked minimal to a extra sustainable method to the cellphone market. I might discuss at size about user-replaceable elements, honest useful resource sourcing alongside the complete provide chain, and incentives for end-of-life recycling for customers, however that will be past the scope of this software-focused article.
